The session was prompted by a public appeal from the Archbishop of Tallinn and head of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELK) Urmas Viilma and Bishop Marko Tiitus.

Junior Research Fellow in the methodology and didactics of humanities and social studies at the University of Tartu Pille-Riin Makilla spoke from the perspective of a religious education teacher.

In her presentation, Makilla discussed, among other things, how religious education could be taught. She said that while the current curricula focus on active learning, engaging students and developing critical thinking, there is really no other way to teach religious studies than through discussions, role-playing and debates.

"There are topics to which there are no single answers. When choosing the methods, we need to be flexible, so that students understand different perspectives, so that they have room to form opinions and so that they do so in a respectful way towards their fellow students," said Makilla.

Makilla also said that asking different subject teachers to create space in their curricula for religious education is unrealistic and unfair. "We need to keep up to date with religious subjects because they are changing with the times, but our teachers are also overworked and it is expensive to train them, so it is not worth discussing that during a time of cutbacks," Makilla said.

"If religious education becomes compulsory, religious topics should not disappear from other subjects," Makilla added.

During the session, Olga Schihalejev, associate professor of religious education at the University of Tartu, spoke about the organization of religious education in Europe.

Ulla Herkel, a history and religious education teacher at the Tallinn Secondary School No. 32, explained how religious education can help to build understanding and improve communication with people from different societies.

Herkel, who spoke about the integration of religious education into different subjects, said that for the ordinary teacher, the question is whether they have the time, knowledge and skills to do so.

"The values of young people in Estonia are polarized: those of 15-year-old boys are like Romania, those of girls are like Norway. Studies have shown that students who speak out tend to be at the weaker end of the scale. This shows that the values education of young people needs to be addressed," said Herkel.

"If Estonia is doing a good job in promoting media literacy, we need to send a message to schools that values education should also be addressed," Herkel added.

Rahel Toomik, Junior Research Fellow in Theology at the University of Tartu, shared her experience of religious education in schools. Toomik said she also represented those privileged people who have received religious education.

Toomik pointed out that university graduates have difficulties in mastering the basics of religious education and that a lack of knowledge on the subject is also demonstrated by senior civil servants working in the public sector.

Toomik added that she understands the desire to integrate religious studies into other subjects, but is not in favor of it.

"The University of Tartu has trained teachers who can impart religious knowledge, but their talents are little used," Toomik said.

Marju Kõivupuu, a senior researcher, folklorist and cultural historian at Tallinn University believes it is important to have a separate subject for religious education in schools. "Religious education is necessary for people to make an informed decision when choosing a religion. It is important to talk about the neo-religious movements, which we also see in Estonia," Kõivupuu said.

Riigikogu MPs who were present for the debate also added their own comments.

Margit Sutrop (Reform) said that adding another subject to the curriculum would be very tough.

Signe Kivi (Reform) said she was in favour of linking religious history to existing subjects and providing further training for teachers. However, she is also not against teaching religious education as a separate subject.

Archbishop of Tallinn Urmas Viilma was not satisfied with the message from the ministry representative that a change of curriculum concerns the whole society and that it would not be possible to introduce a new subject without changing the entire curriculum.

"When they say this discussion has to go on for another ten years, who decided that?" asked Viilma.

Former Estonian Minister of Education Tõnis Lukas (Isamaa) said there were seven other groups who were talking about their own subjects just as powerfully, such as natural scientists.

"So it's clear that shaking up the curriculum will lead to a debate and if there is a decision, it has to be justified. It can be done, but not easily and not in a way that leaves the people in the ministry on their own," Lukas said.

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